Reverse Grip

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Basically, holding the grip of a dagger, a sword, a katana or whatever so that the blade points the direction opposite to the thumb.

There are advantages with this style, namely that it facilitates certain grappling maneuvers (you can use the blade as a hook to assist in maneuvering the enemy, or to inflict damage during a grapple), defensive maneuvers (you can lay the blade against your forearm and let that take the blow instead of your wrist), allows for more powerful downwards and inwards strikes, allows for extreme angles of attack at extremely close range, and has sometimes been viewed as more intuitive (and thus easier to learn and apply) than the regular grip. That said, the wielder's reach is reduced compared to a forward grip, and it prevents any low direct thrusts.

The reasons for using a reverse grip vary, depending on the character and work. The grip might be a tactical choice to facilitate blocking, grappling, slicing, downward stabbing motions or any combination thereof. It might be used in conjunction with Dual Wielding to provide a more diverse range of strikes. It might be the most convenient grip to use on a weapon that is drawn quickly. It might be used to indicate that the user is a hardened or experienced killer. Of course, it also simply looks cool.

Related to Gangsta Style, with the difference being that the Reverse Grip can actually be practical if used properly.

Examples:

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Anime and Manga

Many ninja in Naruto hold kunai in this position, generally for melee combat.

Asuma Sarutobi's and later Shikamaru Nara's trench knife-style "chakra blades" are designed to be used this way.

Post-timeskip, Sasuke holds his sword very often this way.

Kensei Muguruma of Bleach does this, most prominently in the chapters where Ichigo is battling his inner Hollow. Appropriately, the shikai form of Kensei's zanpakuto is a bowie knife.

Alita/Falis from Murder Princess does the katana+wakizashi variety and switches from saber-grip to reverse-grip and back all the damn time with ease.

In Gekiganger 3 they used the Gekigan Sword this way against a ninja-like robot once.

Kaku of One Piece occasionally uses Reverse Grip Dual Wielding on a pair of katana in One Piece. Also "Bohemian Knight" Doma who reverse-grips a saber in each hand. His fighting style seems to center around defeating opponents from behind him.

Admiral Fujitora also wields his Sword Cane this way when in battle and appears to use it to control his Gravity Master powers.

Old Man Fuu, Ling Yao's manservant from Fullmetal Alchemist, wields his sword this way. He is, after all, a ninja-like character, despite being from a nation that's an Expy of China rather than Japan.

Take a look at the standard cover for Princess Mononoke. Either dude has the strongest wrists in the world, or things will become very unfortunate, very quickly.

Rival player Yuujirou Kai in The Prince of Tennis plays normal-grip right-handed at first, but reveals he is actually Reverse Grip LEFT-handed during his match with Kikumaru.

Ryougi Shiki of Kara no Kyoukai often switches her grip several times over the course of a fight, and at one point even throws her knife from a reverse grip.

Similarly, Tohno Shiki from Tsukihime (Same universe, no relation, though similar names intentional due to similar powers) sometimes reverses the grip on his knife. This is actually a sign his Nanaya side is taking over.

Kureha from Tokkô usually wields her twin daggers with a reverse grip.

Gundam characters will on occasion use this style, and it's usually a mark of extreme skill on the part of the pilot, since the MS's are usually designed to wield their swords normally. Users include Anavel Gato during his mid-show duel with Kou, and the Gundam AGE-1 Spallow, which does this by default. Mu la Flaga (in the Perfect Strike) is also shown using this method during the Eyecatch.

In Gunnm Gally/Alita wields a pair of Damascus style swords this way during her Motorball Career. After she leaves Motorball, she keeps the reforged single blade wrapped in cloth in her apartment until she discovers Ido has been kidnapped by Desty Nova. When she is blown up by a doll bomb at the end of the original manga, it is assumed to be lost forever, along with Gally. In Gunnm: Last Order, Desty Nova integrates the heavily damaged blades into her new Imaginos body, allowing her to summon one for each arm at will.

In Pokémon, whenever Ash's Froakie/Frogadier/Greninja uses Cut attack, he creates two blades that he holds this way. Perhaps he studied with Ahsoka Tano.

12 Angry Men uses the trope as a point of contention between the jury. Allegedly the accused stabbed downwards into the victim using the reverse grip. However, Juror #5, who is from the slums, points out that nobody who has experience in knife fights would ever use that grip with a switchblade, as it would be suicide to pause for a second to change to it in a fight.

The Raid: The protagonist, Rama, is an absolute beast with a KA-BAR, switching between forward and Reverse Grip as he carves a gory swathe through hordes of goons.

There is a lightsaber combat style based on Reverse Grip in the Star Wars Expanded Universe called Shien (not to be confused with the Form V variant of the same name). It is seen, for example, in Stackpole's I, Jedi and used by several EU characters, including Adi Gallia, Galen Marek, and Ahsoka Tano. Vader might also be accomplished in this style, considering that he taught the latter two. The style described in I, Jedi is a two-handed variant, with one hand on the grip and the other grasping the pommel, allowing the wielder to lever the blade around by its end using the grip hand as a fulcrum.

Gaunt's Ghosts: The knife technique of the Tanith First-And-Only has "the blade descending from the fist and tilted in towards [the] body".

The get yourself stabbed to get the enemy move is called "Sheathing the Sword". As Lan but it: "There will come a time when you must achieve a goal at all costs. It may come in attack or in defense. And the only way will be to allow the sword to be sheathed in your own body... when the price is worth the gain, and there is no other choice left to you. That is called Sheathing the Sword. Remember it."

In H. Beam Piper's ''The Last Enemy'' Verkan Vall picks a knife duel and blinks in astonishment when he notices his opponent using this style. After killing the fellow — "Only eight seconds from the time you closed with him" — Vall, who learned knife-fighting from pirates, remarks that he feels like a murderer of children; evidently Piper didn't think much of the Reverse Grip.

Abbie Hoffman, in a section of Steal This Book focusing on knives, advocates against using this grip:

"Having seen too many Jim Bowies slash their way through walls of human flesh, they persist in carrying on this inane tradition. Overhead and uppercut slashes are a waste of energy and blade power. The correct method is to hold the knife in a natural, firm grip and jab straight ahead at waist level with the arm extending full length each time. This fencing style allows for the maximum reach of arm and blade. By concentrating the point of the knife directly at the target, you make defense against such an attack difficult."

Prison's Bloody Iron by Harold Jenks and Michael Brown argues otherwise, pointing out that such a grip makes it easier to hold on to the knife, essential when blood is flying and your opponent is close enough to grapple with you.

Averted in Discworld, where professional killers think the dramatic, overarm backstabbing gesture favored by newspaper illustrators is much less preferable to the underarmed stab that goes under the ribcage and through the heart.

"The way to a man's heart was through his stomach."

The Vorkosigan Saga never goes into exact detail about the technique involved in "the two swords", a relic of Barrayar's Time of Isolation used for duelling, but it's probably the sword-and-parrying dagger type of Dual Wielding so this trope likely crops up sometimes.

Live-Action TV

Frequently employed by Duncan McLeod in Highlander with his katana. Used at least once with a regular sword.

Richard does this quite often in Legend of the Seeker. In the books, he's occasionally mentioned as doing this with his off-hand dagger.

Another Super Sentai example is Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger's Kyoryu Green, who specifically developed his feral reverse-hand grip style in opposition to his father's strict swordsmanship.

Masato Kusaka, Kamen Rider Kaixa of Kamen Rider Faiz does it mostly by necessity, since his sword blade extends from the butt of his gun. There are a few times he flips the weapon around and wields the sword in a normal grip (such as an instance where Takumi was incapacitated and Kusaka was preparing to murder him).

In Supernatural, Sam and Dean often hold electric torches like this, for reasons described in the "Real Life" section of this page.

Eliot from Leverage demonstrates the difference between cooking and combat:

Hold a knife like this (places knife blade-down on cutting board), slice an onion. Hold a knife like this (switches to Reverse Grip), slice through like, eight Yakuza in four seconds.

An important plot point in one episode of Quincy, M.E.. From the angle of the knife wound, Quincy could tell that the murderer stabbed his victim using such a grip. This cast doubt on their prime suspect, because their prime suspect had been in the Army and military people are taught to stab upward, with their knife in a forward grip.

Mulder and Scully more often or not held their flashlights in this manner on The X-Files. See "Real Life" below for an explanation why.

On The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon can often be seen holding his knife in this grip when facing off with zombies.

Music

Richard and Roland of Sonic Syndicate occasionally held their microphones in reverse grip.

Tabletop Games

In GURPS: Martial Arts holding a weapon this way makes certain attacks more effective and others more difficult. It's most effective with knives and tonfas.

The Red Mantis Assassins in Pathfinder are noted as Dual Wieldingboth their serrated sabers in Reverse Grip, in emulation of mantis claws.

The original model for Drazhar, Master of Blades, a Dark Eldar special character in Warhammer 40,000, did this with two swords.

Theater

12 Angry Men: The murderer used a reverse grip on a switchblade to kill the victim. The defendant's experience with knife-fighting is used as evidence against him. However, one of the jurors is familiar with switchblades and states that street toughs like the defendant never use a reverse grip.

Video Games

Corvo of Dishonored uses a reverse grip when he's in sneak mode, using his sword for stealth kills from behind. When he stands up straight, he holds the blade by the hilt.

Vader's apprentice does it in The Force Unleashed and SoulCalibur IV with a lightsaber. While still not wholly practical, this is probably one of the best opportunities to use it since it's omni-directional blade.

It's worth noting that when the apprentice actually attacks, he switches to a standard grip. Guess the lack of range just doesn't work for him.

Knife Nut Shiki in Tsukihime often does it when the situation gets dire. It is usually the first sign that Nanaya is taking over.

Twin Blades in Dot Hack GU, as well as the original four games, always usually hold their blades like this; Sora from .hack//SIGN averts this standard by using a pair of katars.

In the games, the blades come in x general variants. A rough description would of each would be daggers, katars, bladed shields, and claws. The daggers are held in a reverse grip, while every other weapon fits over the hand and wrist. Most Twin Blade weapons are daggers, and it is considered their "iconic" weapon. The purpose, in any case, is so that the character model can quickly go from a resting position to an attack strike, rather than having to raise its arm for leverage, like every other class. It's part of their Lightning Bruiser motif.

Ayame from Tenchu uses her daggers in this fashion. The prequel indicates that she started off using a reverse grip in one hand and a forward grip in the other before switching to a double-reverse grip later on.

Used in Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken, for the 'Avan Slash' attack and other based on it...Dai does this with knives, short swords and BFS alike.

Snakes (as in Solid (Old) and Naked (Big Boss)) hold their CQC blades this way, but that makes sense as it's in their off hand and it's basically dual-wielding, but with a firearm in the strong hand. Big Boss actually talks about it in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater when he's whittling the grip on his shiny new 1911.

Baiken in Guilty Gear does this with her katana (which is her main weapon — she doesn't have an offhand weapon because she only has one arm, but she stuffs a lot of weapons in her other sleeve Inspector Gadget style). In her case, however, it's partly out of practicality and partly out of habit - she lost her right arm, which was most likely her dominant arm. Considering the weapons crammed into her right sleeve, a sheath there might get in the way, and so she wears it on the left, usually drawing it in a reverse grip because that would be the easiest way to draw it when the arm and sheath are on the same side. Of course, some of her fancier Rule of Cool steps in.

When playing for the Lotus Clan in Battle Realms, Blade Acolytes dual-wield their swords this way.

The Dragon dagger is the only weapon to be wielded that way in RuneScape, all other daggers are wielded normally.

Most classes in Project Reality that aren't able to mount a bayonet on their main weapon will usually still carry a knife, and will often wield it this way when using it.

Krauser in Resident Evil 4 holds his knife this way. Justified as he's clearly had military service (U.S. SOCOM).

He also defies part of this trope in that, in his knife-fight with Leon (who usually uses a sabre grip), he didn't win. The fight was also something of a showcasing of various knife grips, seeing as they both switched from one grip to another so many times.

In Final Fantasy XI, "katana" (which are actually ninja-to, kunai, and wakazashi) are always held like this. Naturally, the one class that gets skill in these weapons is Ninja, and it quickly gains access to Dual Wielding capability.

Jyuji Kabane from Gungrave: Overdose deserves a special mention as he dual-wieldsgun-katanas in reverse grip, thereby making him an automatic badass. He also happens to be an undead, blind swordsman with a penchant for fire, but that's....

Knives in every Call of Duty game starting with Modern Warfare can only be used in this way. In earlier games it could be interpreted that the reasoning is for a quicker draw. Call of Duty: Black Ops added a ballistic knife that could have its blade shot out to kill enemies at range, which would be harder to aim properly in a normal grip, but then its sequel lets you forgo a primary or secondary weapon and just use a knife all the time, which is also held in this manner just because.

Humorously enough, in World at War's American Marine campaign, failing the quick-time prompt when assaulted by a charging Japanese soldier results in the poor Marine getting a bayonet rammed through his chest, his hand (holding a knife in normal grip) slumping over to his side as he dies. If you succeed, he'll knock the bayonet aside just in time to get a stab in his attacker's neck, with the knife held in reverse grip. Being cool saves lives, people.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pit can split his bow into two swords. He holds one normally, while the other is held like this in order to speed the reattaching process.

In Smash 4, Roy was changed to hold his sword in reverse grip for many of his attacks, in an attempt to declone him and make his Sword of Seals look heavier than Marth and Lucina's Falchions.

In Assassin's Creed I Altair holds the short blade like this. Appropriately, the short blades are slightly better than long swords when surrounded by multiple enemies, drastically reducing the times needed to parry blows, dodge, and counterattack (the downside being less base damage).

His descendant Ezio Auditore follows in his footsteps with his own short blades. He actually draws and replaces them from his belt in a standard grip, then flips it over in the transition to his fighting stance.

In Final Fantasy XII, Judge Magister Gabranth holds the smaller of his two blades, Highway Star, in this manner when he splits his weapon in two. Which is odd, because the artwork (particularly the iconic logo) depicts him wielding both blades in a standard grip.

In Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Ven wields his Keyblade like this, while his starting blade is designed with this in mind, with the grip on the side, all of his other blades are standard, straight Keyblades.

And in 358/2 Days's Mission mode, secret character Sora flips to a reverse grip for the last hit of his ground combo when wielding the Dream Sword.

Sora in general is prone to this since the secondPlayStation 2 game, where his Drive forms sometimes granted him a second Keyblade that he held in a reverse grip, serving as foreshadowing the fact Sora's heart houses Ventus's heart. He also temporarily uses Riku's Keyblade in an RG OUTSIDE of a Drive during the final battle.

In Riku's final cutscene prior to the True Final Boss in Kingdom Hearts 3D, he does this to break free from Ansem-SoD, who was sitting on top of him: he "un-summons" his Keyblade, only to re-summon it immediately, only backwards, in order to swing it upwards.

Mulan in the Land of Dragons also holds her sword in a reverse grip after abandoning her disguise as Ping, where she used the standard grip instead.

Despite the fact that a reversed blade would be harder for actually stabbing someone, the effect is actually designed for player convenience. Since taking a swing with the knife drops the spy's disguise effect, the animation of turning the knife indicates "if you swing now, you'll get your backstab". A handy tool for novice spies not yet used to the exact of their melee weapon yet. Experienced spies learn to fire off the stab within frames of the animation starting.

Though the Spy does a backstabbing motion without the grip reversal when he performs a Critical Hit, except there are two limitations to this: First, the attack isn't insta-kill; second, the Spy's knives cannot perform a Critical Hit naturally.

Knife-wielders in the Fire Emblem games, or at least Sothe and Volke, appear to wield their knives this way in combat.

Though in Path of Radiance it appears to be limited to the Thief class, as Volke switches to a much more relaxed forward grip.

There are no knives in Fire Emblem Awakening, so all classes that would normally utilize knives use swords instead. Units in these classes hold their swords in a reverse-grip, which looks rather awkward (holding a long-bladed weapon in this fashion doesn't seem very comfortable or effective).

Ironically, while Roy doesn't use the grip in his game, many of his attacks in Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U has him swing his sword this way.

Zig-zagged Fire Emblem Fates, which brings the daggers back, but includes them with shurikens as "Hidden weapons". When the Nohrian Butler or Maid class uses them, they use them in a standard grip wherein they slash with them. But when the Hoshidan ninjas use them, they hold them in a reverse grip and slash or stab (Depending on the animation.)

More SoulCalibur fun. Taki carried two ninjato into battle; her primary seemed to be held conventionally, while her secondary, on the rare occasion it's used, is held this way. In addition, in Soul Calibur 3 you could give the 'Wave Sword' skill set to a generic character; these were twin swords used normally that just curved around the wielder's hands like a basket hilt then continued downwards.

Samurai Shodown's Nakoruru seems to use this form often. It also applies to Cham Cham; even though it's a giant boomerang, when she holds it in paw and swings it, it's done this way. Starting with the 3rd game, Ukyo Tachibana holds his sword this way for several of his attacks, usually strong normal sword strikes. Sogetsu Kazama also uses it, mainly in his standing strong slash.

The Bard from The Bard's Tale can learn to dual wield a sword with a dagger, holding the latter backwards.

In Halo, the Spartans from Halo: Reach onward do this with their assassination knives. ALL the time. Even in midair.

Edge of Final Fantasy IV does this in the DS remake after you've input a command but before he's done it, as well as his artwork for The After Years.

Kotaro from Sengoku Basara holds his ninja-to like this. In the anime, the one time Sasuke is shown wielding a katana, he holds both the sword and its sheath this way, so he can effectively dual wield.

In Dragon Age II, "Reversed Grip" is an advanced Dual Wielding technique (unlike in the first game, dual-wielding is only possible with daggers in part two).

The Visual Novel for Phantom of Inferno has Ein train Zwei in using a reverse grip fighting style with combat knives, the logic behind it being that the length of the blade doesn't lend itself to a traditional grip. The style she trains him in revolves around using the the blade to deflect any swipes or stabs from an enemy in order to create an opening to be exploited.

Frank Fly's battle sprite in Earthbound has a knife in both hands, with the left one in the reverse grip. Due to the constraints of the battle system, how this benefits him is never actually shown.

A number of dagger-type weapons in Warframe use this grip, such as the Ceramic Dagger and Dual Ether Daggers.

According to Geoff Crookes, the Animation Director of the development team behind Warframe, the Blind Justice stance mod applied to Nikanas (aka Katanas) is based on the reverse grip fighting style practiced by the fictional Japanese swordsman Zatōichi. The name of the stance also alludes to Zatōichi's blindness.

Dust: An Elysian Tail has the titular Dust holding his sword in a reverse grip when out of combat, but during combat can swap to a normal or double-handed grip as needed.

Ken Ryugasaki's mecha in Genocide 2: Master of the Dark Communion is holding its sword in a reverse grip instead the normal grip from the previous game. It's not just for looks though, as you can block some attacks by holding the attack button while standing or crouching.

Bloodborne has Threaded Cane, when you are wielding it in transformed mode, you are essentially carrying a whip in reverse grip.

In Hyrule Warriors, Ghirahim holds his sword this way when running, but flips it the right way around for attacking.

In Dynasty Warriors Gundam: 3, the Knight Gundam holds his sword normally, but during a few attack animations, he will let go of his sword and change his grip midair, performing a strike that way.

Employed by Cassima in King's Quest VI. When Al-Hazred duels Alexander, Cassima contributes to the fight by sneaking up on Al-Hazred and stabbing him right in the shoulder.

Kit from Fey Winds holds one of her swords with a normal grip, and the other reversed.

Western Animation

Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Apparently it's better at deflecting blaster bolts. Anakin has been trying to break her of this habit, and she now switched between them. Wookieepedia calls this the "Reverse Shien grip", a variation on Form V lightsaber combat. In a nice touch, she also holds her fork the same way.

Samurai Jack holds his sword in his left hand like this, when his right arm is incapacitated in "Jack Tales".

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as in its sequel, many firebenders apply an aggressive combat style using "fire daggers" which they wield as if holding real daggers with reverse grip.

Work-blades such as wood-blades and cooking knives are typically held this way when not in use, specifically because it makes stabbing or cutting things (especially oneself) significantly more difficult and thus less likely to do by accident. Go to any professional kitchen, look for anyone with a knife who is walking rather than standing at a work-station, and you'll see this grip, usually with the blade laid along the forearm for extra danger-reduction and control.

If you trip over with a knife in reverse grip, the consequences will be considerably less dire. Tripping into someone with a knife in forward grip could eviscerate them. Doing so (accidentally) with a knife in reverse grip is almost impossible. Furthermore, the natural reflex when falling to the ground is to break your fall with your hands, spreading them palm down. This will place the blade of the knife to the outside of your hands, instead of potentially directly under your throat.

There is a similar distinction in table tennis: the shakehand grip is the "traditional" grip with the racket's "blade" above the thumb, and the penhold grip is the reverse with the racket's grip pointing upwards, as if it were a pen.

Some styles of Kung Fu, when using a short knife as a weapon, will teach students to use a backhanded grip. Most techniques from this grip are strikes or jabs with the pommel, rather than blade techniques; it's the defensive techniques that use the blade, and mostly for non-flashy disabling cuts. "Yeah, you're not using that arm without some serious surgery..." The stabbing motion with the backhand grip also uses the same action as the (karate) chop, which lends itself well to open-hand styles.

Parrying daggers are often used in this way. As the name suggests, they're mostly for blocking the other guy's sword. And they often are more useful when held in a Reverse Grip because doing so decreases the strain on wrists (as the parrying weapon is supported with the entire arm this way), thus allowing for a firmer hold on the weapon when blocking. It's worth mentioning that no western fighting manuals from XVI to XVIII century actually teach holding a parrying dagger in RG, but it's a common grip only to daggers itself in XV-XVI c. manuals.

Both swords and daggers / combat knives operate mainly by punching holes into vital organs and arteries. Slashing and chopping attacks are much less deadly and more suited to axes and axe-like falchions. A sword with at least an arm's length allows one to impale another without being touched in return, so it is used in the forward grip maximizing the reach, while using the pommel and crossguard as a secondary weapon against the head up close. A dagger or knife doesn't work at range, and the reverse grip is used to more easily reach the vital spots on the neck and chest in a brawl, as the forward grip results in much less deadly strikes to the gut and legs.

The baselard, a popular 14th and 15th century dagger, was commonly welded with a reversed hammerfist grip for a stronger underhand stab.

One defensive stance for a two-handed sword has the blade pointed down with the hands at about face-height; this allows for relatively quick strikes at the legs and, due to the weight and balance of the blade, allows for more efficient thrusts. (Instead of swinging the sword down to line up your thrust and then stopping the movement, you just relax and let the hilt drop towards you, and shove up and out. If you're going to be wielding a BFS for the duration of a battle, the more work gravity's doing for you the better.)

In a street fight or brawl, reverse grip is very efficient for both offense and defense. It allows you to keep your hands up for blocks, while still letting you attack without having to extend your whole arm for a thrust. In addition, if you try to punch someone and whiff, you've still got 4 or 5 inches of sharp steel following your hand to follow up and allow for sweeping slashes.

Lindy Beige explains in this video how this trope is Awesome, but Impractical, due to how limited your movements are while wielding a weapon in this fashion, and how vulnerable you'd be to counter attacks by your opponent. He says that while someone using the reverse grip is preparing for a fancy attack, he would simply use a Boring, but Practical slashing attack holding a knife the normal way with the blade up to disable his opponent's limbs, or at least get a first strike in.

Some riot-control drills call for officers to stow their batons in a reverse grip (held behind the forearm) when not in a direct confrontation. Much like the kitchen-knife example, this is supposed to appear less threatening than waving the baton around, and thus should (at least in theory) help officers to avoid provoking a violent response. It also allows them to keep the weapon handy in case things really do go south, in which case it takes less than a second to shift to a standard grip.

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